Repeat Offender #fundie

Repeat Offender #fundie freerepublic.com

[re. Zack Kopplin, an anti-Creationist activist from Louisiana.]

Well one thing this kid needs to learn is it is the THEORY of evolution - not LAW; so don't act like there is nothing to challenge evolution. Can there not be another "theory?"
The fossil record doesn't support half the nonsense evolutionists come up with, no one has ever proven a Big Bang, and I don't see any dogs with gills, or talking fish - their fossils seem to have disappeared too.

And strangely enough animals seem to decide to wallow over to one area and die in large groups so their fossils can be found together. Fossilized trees have been found that extend through multiple layers of sediment - you know that stuff that take millions of years to deposit, because trees can grow with fossilized roots, because they evolved that way.

And clams at one time had legs, but evolution said they didn't need them which is why seashells are found near the top of Mt. Everest - definitely a more plausible story than a catastrophic event such as a flood of Noah's Ark proportions.

Cannot a competing "theory" held by a considerable number of Americans also be taught as well?

51 comments

old comment by Swede

A theory is much more extensive than a mere law, in science. The ToE is challenged, all the time. There CAN be another theory (no scare quotes needed) yes, but there isn't one.

The fossil record doesn't work like that, the Big Bang has nothing to do with Biology, and dogs with gills or talking fish is completely against the ToE.

Those large groups of fossils are usually due to some kind of natural disaster; a mud slide, a flood, something like that. The animals didn't decide to do anything; they were flung there by nature.

Fossilized roots can not grow, as fossils are rock, not wood.

The top of Mt Everest was once a seabed, which have been pushed up through plate tectonics. That's why you find seashells up there. There is no evidence whatsoever for a catastrophic event such as a flood of Noah's Ark proportions. Besides, the Chinese and the Hindu have records dating more 6000 years back, and they don't mention any flooding of this calibre.

Science is not a popularity contest. If you have a scientific theory that does indeed compete with ToE, then, by all means, present it and other scientists can decide whether it's sound enough to be taught alongside ToE.

old comment by John_in_Oz

Yeah, I'd have trouble if anyone found a single tree that grew through layers of sediment that took millions of years to accumulate. Obviously I don't have a problem with roots growing through earlier strata.
However, the general rule that most geological strata were laid down overmillions of years has its exceptions. As in Yellowstone park, volcanos can deeply cover some forrests rapidly. Think of how deeply Pompei was buried for a human-scale example. Other cases are due to rapid sedimentation from subsidence. I don't know of a single case of these 'polystrate' fossils that are not subject to one of thes two perfectly well understood causes.
The creationist error is to assume that the general rule is a Universal rule. Sort of like the mistake they make about sexual preferences, come to think of it.

old comment by GigaGuess

Well one thing this kid needs to learn is it is the THEORY of evolution - not LAW; so don't act like there is nothing to challenge evolution.
You're misinterpreting "Theory." A theory isn't a wild guess. A theory is an idea that best fits the evidence at hand. Gravity is a "Theory," yet I don't see any of you guys clamoring for "Intelligent Falling" to be taught in schools.

Can there not be another "theory?"
Sure, find one that can be tested, falsified and stands up to peer review.

The fossil record doesn't support half the nonsense evolutionists come up with, no one has ever proven a Big Bang, and I don't see any dogs with gills, or talking fish - their fossils seem to have disappeared too.
Funny, evolution doesn't state any of this. It's not saying that a monkey just gave birth to a human baby one day, it is that several small mutations that helped a species adapt to their environment comounded more and more taking a species further away from the starting point until it is an entirely different species.

And strangely enough animals seem to decide to wallow over to one area and die in large groups so their fossils can be found together. Fossilized trees have been found that extend through multiple layers of sediment - you know that stuff that take millions of years to deposit, because trees can grow with fossilized roots, because they evolved that way.
Or...you know...they didn't fall down flat. Just throwing it out there. And here's a notion for you. When you have animals that act in herds...YOU TEND TO FIND THEIR BODIES IN GROUPS!

And clams at one time had legs, but evolution said they didn't need them which is why seashells are found near the top of Mt. Everest - definitely a more plausible story than a catastrophic event such as a flood of Noah's Ark proportions.
Yup. Legs. And nothing to do with the tectonic plates ramming together, and pushing the landmass up. And it's funny. The Egyptians were pretty busy building pyramids right about the time Noah was sailing above them. I knew they were good, but DAMN!

Cannot a competing "theory" held by a considerable number of Americans also be taught as well?
It certainly can. As soon as it passes the muster as REAL science.

Unless I'm allowed to teach evolution in Sunday School. What's the matter, can't handle competing viewpoints?

“Well one thing this kid needs to learn is it is the THEORY of evolution - not LAW;”
Theory and Law are not to levels in a hierarchy.
And ‘theory’ in science is different than a ‘theory’ on a courtroom drama.

“so don't act like there is nothing to challenge evolution.”
There’s nothing scientific to challenge the theory of evolution, no.

“Can there not be another "theory?"”
To replace the theory of evolution, we’d need a scientific theory that better explains the observations made so far AND at least one observation that the ToE cnnot explain. And to be science, it has to be naturalistic. No magic.

“The fossil record doesn't support half the nonsense evolutionists come up with,”
You’re about to show your complete ignorance of what evolutionary science is, aren’t you?

"no one has ever proven a Big Bang,”
Bingo! Thanks for playing. Pick up your consolation prize on the way out.

“and I don't see any dogs with gills, or talking fish - their fossils seem to have disappeared too.”
And you can find the textbook reference saying that such things SHOULD have existed…where?

“And strangely enough animals seem to decide to wallow over to one area and die in large groups so their fossils can be found together.”
Odd how all the fossils of a species appear at the same layer of strata, yes. Along with their eggs, nests, and footprints.
You’d think if the Flood were sorting things, then all the footprints of ALL the species would go to the same level, no?

"Fossilized trees have been found that extend through multiple layers of sediment - you know that stuff that take millions of years to deposit, because trees can grow with fossilized roots, because they evolved that way.”
Ever see a dandelion growing through a crack in the concrete sidewalk? Medditate and reflect on that.

“And clams at one time had legs, but evolution said they didn't need them which is why seashells are found near the top of Mt. Everest - definitely a more plausible story than a catastrophic event such as a flood of Noah's Ark proportions.”
Again, the textbook with this fantasy is….where?

“Cannot a competing "theory" held by a considerable number of Americans also be taught as well?”
No, it really can’t. Not in ‘science,’ class. Not if it’s a magical ‘just so’ story, no.

It shows how this propagandist has been indoctrinated for alienation. Their idea of evolution has nothing to do with actual biological evolution, only imaginary and ignorant straw men.